President Obama visited Staten Island shortly after he was re-elected in November to see the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.Advance File Photo

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - As he kicks off his second term, Democratic President Barack Obama has become Staten Island's commander in chief.

Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday night with more of a kinship to the borough than he had even six months ago.

"There is almost a warm and fuzzy connection," said Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore). It began with Hurricane Sandy.

When Conservative Borough President James P. Molinaro made worldwide headlines in slamming the federal and American Red Cross response in the aftermath of the superstorm, the White House made sure Molinaro was part of a top-level conference call that included Obama.

During the call, Obama assured Molinaro that devastated Islanders would get the help they needed.

Backing up his words, Obama quickly dispatched Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to the borough for a high-profile visit. Top FEMA officials were assigned here, and the head of the American Red Cross also made an appearance.

The came an Election Day shocker, when Obama won the Island by three points over Republican Mitt Romney.

Most politicos, Democrats included, believed the Island would continue its GOP-voting ways in White House battles. Instead, Obama became just the fourth Democrat to win the Island in a presidential race since 1936. He lost to Republican John McCain here four years earlier.

That was followed up by the truly historic moment: The visit of the president to the Island to tour Sandy-ravaged areas.

Obama spent two hours here, talking to affected residents and touring blasted neighborhoods. It was Obama's only on-the-ground view of the Sandy devastation in New York. He also visited with the Moore family, whose two small children were swept away in the maelstrom.

It had been 15 years since a sitting president -- Democrat Bill Clinton -- had visited the Island.

Later in the month, Obama, during his Thanksgiving message to the nation, mentioned the Midland Beach family who erected an ad hoc Christmas tree at their storm-ravaged home, saying they were a symbol of storm victims' resilience.

The family had received an official White House Christmas ornament from a Secret Service agent during Obama's Island visit.

And there was a touch of the Island when the chorus from PS 22 in Graniteville sang at Obama's second inauguration ceremony.

But despite the good vibrations, Titone said Obama shouldn't take the Island for granted.

"He still has to go to work every day and prove himself to Staten Islanders, particularly in the wake of Sandy," he said. "It doesn't mean that the honeymoon can't end."

State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) agreed.

"I don't think Staten Island will give him a pass," she said. "He has to follow through on the economy, and help us get through Sandy. I don't think Staten Islanders have blind devotion toward him." ---Follow @siadvance on Twitter